Make-a-Wish Foundation

Make-A-Wish exists for one simple reason – to grant truly magical wishes to children and young people, aged between 3-17 fighting life-threatening conditions.

A wish is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It’s a positive distraction from on-going medical treatment and a focus for children living with serious illness whose future maybe uncertain.

We go above and beyond to turn dreams into reality at a time when our wish children need it most.

Our wishes are about magic, hope, smiles and memories. They create happy memories for families, build confidence and provide respite from the daily struggles of coping with a serious illness.

Whilst they cannot add days to a child’s life they can, with your help, add life to a child’s day.

The positive impact of a wish can be felt by the family for years to come. Each wish they grant is “unique”, and cost vary but the average cost is around £2500.

Here are just a few incredible wishes the Crerar Trust have helped towards making a reality.

Victoria, aged 5 from East Lothian who was diagnosed with leukaemia, wished to be a princess! Her day started when she was chauffeured by limousine from her home in East Lothian and taken to the beautiful grounds of historic Dundas Castle near Edinburgh.

Victoria was taken upstairs to the Winter Room where her pink dress, tiara, jewellery, shoes and presents were all laid out for her. Once her mini-makeover was complete she was whisked downstairs in full princess attire to the main hall, where Prince Charming was waiting to escort her to the ballroom for a magical dance!

After playing hide-and-seek with the Prince, Princess Victoria was ready for a well-earned lunch consisting of all her favourite foods: cocktail sausages, cream cheese sandwiches, strawberry ice cream and chocolate buttons.

Then it was time for Victoria to have a ride around the grounds in a real carriage drawn by horses!

Make-a-Wish Foundation had planned out Victoria’s wish from start to finish with plenty of surprises to make sure it was as special as possible!

Ashlee, aged 9 from Falkirk who is living with a type of tumour called neuroblastoma told us how she absolutely loves animals and her one true wish was to be a vet for the day. The wish took place at Braid Vets in Edinburgh and Ashlee’s mum Lisa told us she thoroughly enjoyed experiencing her “dream job” for the day.

Ben, aged 9 from Fife was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic. His wish was to be a chef for the day – to find out what it is like to cook in a professional kitchen! Ben made a special buffet of food for his family, bringing pizza, snails, frogs’ legs, steak and a chocolate pudding to the table!

His mum talked about how the wish gave Ben self-belief: “He can stand up now and say he went to a restaurant to be a chef. That makes him feel special and important. We will never forget the look on his face!

Joe, aged 5 from Edinburgh who had a brain tumour wished to be a pirate! When he turned to Make A Wish, he knew exactly what to wish for – to have a pirate party. Travelling down to the pirate ship in a limo, Joe was bursting with excitement. Jack Sparrow was waiting for him! They spent the whole day chatting away – playing on the pirate ship and eating special pirate cake. Mum, Amanda told the charity about the positive effect the wish had on her son: “He needed it. He was so sick, it gave him something to focus on.”

Keep up to date...

with all of our latest news and offers. Click the button to get started.